You are sitting in bed, gradually drifting off to sleep, when you suddenly get a notification: It’s time to “BeReal.” Instead of waiting until you are hanging out with your friends, at a concert or at a party, you are not ashamed to take and post a photo while doing absolutely nothing. 

The premise of the new social media platform, BeReal, is to take a picture once a day at a random time, no matter what you are doing. In an effort to cultivate actual authenticity, the app sends notifications at different times each day. BeReal has skyrocketed to popularity, as we crave this unfiltered environment seemingly nonexistent in present social media culture. BeReal has taken Gen-Z audiences by storm and is one of the top apps on the app store at the moment. BeReal rose to stardom this spring, but many fear that the app will lose popularity as the school year starts up again. 

The platform is not this popular without reason though. Teens and young adults everywhere crave a casual social media platform to show the realness of one’s life, rather than posting calculated and planned photographs prominently displayed on other social media apps. 

Instagram, for example, is turning into a collection of curated and edited photos. Everything about social media recently is becoming less and less genuine. Instagram promotes only the best version of oneself and has been protested for being too fake. Users want to make the app more casual, although this goal has been unattainable until recently. 

BeReal’s rise to fame is largely credited with its casual manner. Posting a photo of yourself simply sitting in your bed is now common and accepted on the app. This is bringing back the fun in social media for many.  

The app has been criticized for allowing people to post late pictures, being less “real,” but this is only a minor controversy that is not causing too much dispute. Many users, however, are disappointed by BeReal’s speed. The app tends to not load when the BeReal goes off due to the immense amount of people using the app at one time. Many people are angry about this, as the annoyance has forced people to post their photographs late. 

Still, the popularity of the app has not halted and has only grown since its launch in 2020. The app gained popularity and name recognition earlier this year, and now has nearly 10 million users that are active daily. The extreme stardom of BeReal will hopefully continue to bring authenticity to social media.